Opening the Textbook:
Educational Resources in U.S. Higher Education, 2017
Julia E. Seaman, Ph.D.
Research Director, Babson Survey Research Group
Jeff Seaman, Ph.D.
Director, Babson Survey Research Group
2017
Opening the Textbook: Educational Resources in U.S. Higher
Education, 2017, Babson Survey Research Group
is released
under a Creative
Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International license.
Report available at: www.onlinelearningsurvey.com/oer.html.
APPENDIX TABLES
Selecting Educational Resources
|
Proportion of Faculty requiring Particular Materials for Their Course |
|
|
Textbook(s) |
68.2% |
|
Articles/Case studies |
52.7% |
|
Video/Film |
22.4% |
|
Software |
19.9% |
|
Supplies (Laboratory, Art, etc.) |
15.4% |
|
Other |
13.0% |
|
Calculator |
11.3% |
|
Data sets |
8.1% |
|
Clicker (Classroom response system) |
6.3% |
|
Importance of Factors in Selecting Required Course Materials |
||||
|
|
Works with my institution’s LMS |
Recommended by other faculty |
Includes supplemental materials |
|
|
Very important |
16.8% |
9.0% |
21.7% |
|
|
Important |
18.3% |
29.9% |
20.8% |
|
|
Somewhat important |
20.9% |
37.3% |
23.2% |
|
|
Not important |
43.9% |
23.9% |
34.3% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Adaptable/editable |
Available in digital format |
Available in print format |
|
|
Very important |
29.2% |
32.4% |
44.6% |
|
|
Important |
26.6% |
32.3% |
30.0% |
|
|
Somewhat important |
18.1% |
25.2% |
16.7% |
|
|
Not important |
26.2% |
10.0% |
8.7% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Easy to find |
Cost to the student |
Comprehensive content |
|
|
Very important |
43.2% |
55.5% |
57.9% |
|
|
Important |
39.3% |
32.6% |
30.9% |
|
|
Somewhat important |
12.5% |
10.1% |
8.2% |
|
|
Not important |
4.9% |
1.8% |
3.0% |
|
|
Importance of Factors in Selecting Required Course Materials by Type of Institution |
||
|
|
2015-16 |
2016-17 |
|
Works with my institution’s LMS |
34.1% |
35.1% |
|
Recommended by other faculty |
44.3% |
38.8% |
|
Includes supplemental materials |
41.0% |
42.5% |
|
Adaptable/editable |
43% |
55.8% |
|
Available in digital format |
Not Asked |
64.8% |
|
Available in print format |
Not Asked |
74.6% |
|
Easy to find |
69% |
82.5% |
|
Cost to the student |
87% |
88.1% |
|
Comprehensive content |
76% |
88.8% |
Cost to the Student
|
Importance of Cost in Selection of Curriculum Materials |
||
|
Very important |
Important |
|
|
Part-time |
58.5% |
29.7% |
|
Full-time |
54.5% |
33.5% |
|
N/A |
57.1% |
27.8% |
|
Tenured |
51.4% |
33.6% |
|
Tenure track, not tenured |
56.3% |
34.4% |
|
Not tenure track |
59.1% |
33.2% |
|
Under 35 |
64.3% |
26.2% |
|
35 - 44 |
58.1% |
32.4% |
|
45 - 54 |
57.6% |
31.4% |
|
55+ |
53.1% |
32.6% |
|
Average Cost of Required textbook by Discipline |
|
|
Discipline |
Average Cost |
|
Computer and Information Science |
$68 |
|
Liberal Arts and Sciences |
$69 |
|
Social Sciences |
$74 |
|
Education |
$87 |
|
Natural Sciences |
$101 |
|
Business |
$132 |
|
Professional |
$155 |
|
Health and related |
$182 |
|
Satisfaction With Cost for the Selected Textbook |
||
|
|
Very satisfied |
Satisfied |
|
Business |
12.8% |
31.9% |
|
Education |
18.2% |
27.3% |
|
Natural Sciences |
14.1% |
32.0% |
|
Computer and Information Science |
20.8% |
35.4% |
|
Liberal Arts and Sciences |
26.8% |
33.9% |
|
Professional |
28.6% |
32.9% |
|
Social Sciences |
19.7% |
43.6% |
|
Health and related |
18.2% |
65.5% |
|
Proportion of Faculty Reporting that at Least 90% of their Students had Purchased the Required textbook by Discipline |
|
|
Computer and Information Science |
25.0% |
|
Natural Sciences |
26.7% |
|
Business |
28.3% |
|
Social Sciences |
31.1% |
|
Liberal Arts and Sciences |
35.5% |
|
Education |
41.2% |
|
Health and related |
51.0% |
|
Professional |
58.1% |
Awareness of Open Educational Resources
|
Awareness of Open Educational Resources: 2016-17 |
|
|
Very Aware |
9.6% |
|
Aware |
19.6% |
|
Somewhat Aware |
15.3% |
|
Not Aware |
55.5% |
|
Awareness of Open Educational Resources: 2014-15 to 2016-17 |
|||
|
|
2014-15 |
2015-16 |
2016-17 |
|
Very Aware |
5% |
7% |
9.6% |
|
Aware |
15% |
19% |
19.6% |
|
Somewhat Aware |
14% |
16% |
15.3% |
|
Not Aware |
65.9% |
58.4% |
55.5% |
Awareness of Licensing of Open Educational Resources
|
Awareness of Legal Permissions: 2016-17 |
|||
|
|
Creative Commons |
Public Domain |
Copyright |
|
Very Aware |
19% |
30% |
42% |
|
Aware |
28% |
40% |
42% |
|
Somewhat Aware |
24% |
22% |
13% |
|
Unaware |
29% |
8.7% |
4% |
|
Awareness of Creative Commons: 2014-15 to 2016-17 |
|||
|
|
2014-15 |
2015-16 |
2016-17 |
|
Very Aware |
14% |
16% |
19% |
|
Aware |
23% |
22% |
28% |
|
Somewhat Aware |
28% |
28% |
24% |
|
Unaware |
36% |
34.2% |
34% |
|
Awareness of Open Educational Resources and Creative COMMONS: 2014-15 to 2016-17 |
|||
|
|
2014-15 |
2015-16 |
2016-17 |
|
Very Aware |
5% |
6% |
8.4% |
|
Aware |
12% |
16% |
16.6% |
|
Somewhat Aware |
10% |
12% |
12.1% |
|
Not Aware |
73.6% |
66.3% |
62.9% |
Digital versus Print
|
Faculty Preference for Print or Digital Materials |
|
|
Prefer print materials |
31.7% |
|
Neutral |
39.4% |
|
Prefer digital materials |
28.9% |
|
Prefer Digital Materials Over Print by Age of Faculty |
|
|
Under 35 |
41.3% |
|
35 - 44 |
36.5% |
|
45 - 54 |
30.7% |
|
55+ |
26.2% |
|
Prefer Digital Materials Over Print by Discipline of Faculty |
|
|
Professional |
40.3% |
|
Liberal Arts and Sciences |
35.9% |
|
Computer and Information Science |
35.2% |
|
Health and related |
33.3% |
|
Education |
30.0% |
|
Natural Sciences |
25.6% |
|
Business |
23.9% |
|
Social Sciences |
22.4% |
Educational Resource Decision Process
|
Activity of Faculty Selecting Required Course Materials
|
|
|
Created new course |
24.1% |
|
Substantially modified course |
53.5% |
|
New required materials |
22.4% |
|
Faculty Role in Decision of Required Course Materials |
|
|
Solely responsible |
66.8% |
|
Lead a group |
10.2% |
|
Member of a group |
12.5% |
|
Influence the selection |
5.4% |
|
No role |
2.1% |
|
Other |
3.1% |
|
Use of Open-Licensed Textbook |
|
|
2015-16 |
5.3% |
|
2016-17 |
8.6% |
|
Licensing of Required Textbooks |
||
|
Digital Textbook(s) |
Copyrighted |
77.6% |
|
Creative Commons |
3.6% |
|
|
Public Domain |
7.0% |
|
|
NA/Don't Know |
15.7% |
|
|
Printed Textbook(s) |
Copyrighted |
95.6% |
|
Creative Commons |
1.1% |
|
|
Public Domain |
3.5% |
|
|
NA/Don't Know |
3.2% |
|
Potential Barriers
|
Barriers to Adoption of OER - 2016-17 |
|
|
Difficult to find what I need |
50.2% |
|
Lack of resources for my subject |
46.6% |
|
Concern about updates |
28.6% |
|
Not high-quality |
27.7% |
|
Questions on permission |
23.5% |
|
Lack of track record |
19.6% |
|
No good print options |
19.5% |
|
Lack of associated materials |
18.4% |
|
Not used by other faculty |
16.4% |
|
Not current, up-to-date |
16.1% |
|
Other |
9.1% |
|
Barriers to Adoption of OER - 2016-17 and 2015-16 |
||
|
|
2015-16 |
2016-17 |
|
Difficult to find what I need |
48% |
50.2% |
|
Lack of resources for my subject |
49% |
46.6% |
|
Concern about updates |
Not Asked |
28.6% |
|
Not high-quality |
28% |
27.7% |
|
Questions on permission |
21% |
23.5% |
The Process of Textbook Adoption for Introductory Courses
|
Importance of Factors in Selecting Required Course Materials - Teach Introductory Course or Not |
||
|
|
No |
Teach Introductory Course |
|
Comprehensive content |
88.2% |
90.2% |
|
Cost to the student |
87.2% |
90.4% |
|
Easy to find |
81.7% |
84.6% |
|
Available in print format |
72.5% |
79.6% |
|
Available in digital format |
64.9% |
64.3% |
|
Adaptable/editable |
55.1% |
57.3% |
|
Includes supplemental materials |
42.3% |
42.9% |
|
Recommended by other faculty |
37.8% |
41.5% |
|
Works with my institution’s LMS |
32.7% |
41.2% |
|
Barriers to Adoption of OER - 2016-17 |
||
|
|
National |
Teach Intro Course |
|
Difficult to find what I need |
50.2% |
38.0% |
|
Lack of resources for my subject |
46.6% |
33.2% |
|
Concern about updates |
28.6% |
23.7% |
|
Not high-quality |
27.7% |
36.5% |
|
Questions on permission |
23.5% |
18.3% |
|
Lack of track record |
19.6% |
19.5% |
|
No good print options |
19.5% |
24.3% |
|
Lack of associated materials |
18.4% |
37.5% |
|
Not used by other faculty |
16.4% |
18.2% |
|
Not current, up-to-date |
16.1% |
9.9% |
|
Other |
9.1% |
12.7% |
|
OpenStax adoption |
||
|
|
2015-16 |
2016-17 |
|
Adopted OpenStax |
10.8% |
16.5% |
|
Satisfaction with Textbook |
|||
|
Intro Course OpenStax |
Intro Course Non-OpenStax |
Non-Intro Courses |
|
|
Extremely satisfied |
24% |
29% |
32% |
|
Moderately satisfied |
60% |
48% |
52% |
|
Slightly satisfied |
10% |
12% |
8% |
|
Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied |
0% |
4% |
3% |
|
Slightly dissatisfied |
3% |
3% |
2% |
|
Moderately dissatisfied |
2% |
2% |
1% |
|
Extremely dissatisfied |
0% |
2% |
1% |
|
Satisfaction with Selected Textbook - OpenStax User or Not |
||
|
|
Adopted OpenStax |
Other |
|
Easy to find |
93% |
92% |
|
Recommended by faculty |
83% |
84% |
|
Familiarity with brand/publisher |
87% |
84% |
|
Comprehensive content |
76% |
79% |
|
Supplemental instructor material |
69% |
77% |
|
Works with LMS |
70% |
76% |
|
Adaptable/editable |
71% |
64% |
|
Cost to the student |
86% |
42% |
|
Use Existing Materials or Develop Own |
||
|
|
OpenStax Adopter |
All Other Teaching Introductory Course |
|
Develop own curriculum |
58.5% |
54.0% |
|
Neutral |
27.7% |
34.1% |
|
Utilize third party content |
13.8% |
11.9% |
|
Preference for Lecture Versus Facilitated Exploration |
||
|
|
OpenStax Adopter |
All Other Teaching Introductory Course |
|
Preference for lecture |
13.6% |
30.2% |
|
Neutral |
35.6% |
41.9% |
|
Preference for facilitated exploration |
50.8% |
27.9% |
|
Preference for Print Versus Digital Materials |
||
|
|
OpenStax Adopter |
All Other Teaching Introductory Course |
|
Prefer print materials |
17.5% |
33.7% |
|
Neutral |
43.9% |
41.0% |
|
Prefer digital materials |
38.6% |
25.3% |
Future Use
|
Will You Use Open Educational Resources in the Next Three Years? |
|
|
Yes |
7.4% |
|
Will consider |
36.9% |
|
Might Consider |
34.7% |
|
Not interested |
6.4% |
|
No Opinion / Don't Know |
14.6% |
|
Will You Use Open Educational Resources in the Next Three Years: 2015-16 and 2016-17 |
||
|
|
Yes |
Will consider |
|
2015-16 |
6.9% |
31.3% |
|
2016-17 |
7.4% |
36.9% |
Methodology
|
Tenure Status |
|
|
N/A |
14.6% |
|
Tenured |
42.9% |
|
Tenure track, not tenured |
11.6% |
|
Not tenure track |
30.8% |
|
Teaching Status |
|
|
Part-time |
27.2% |
|
Full-time |
72.8% |
|
Number of years teaching |
|
|
1 to 3 |
7.3% |
|
4 to 5 |
8.2% |
|
6 to 9 |
12.5% |
|
10 to 15 |
17.2% |
|
16 to 20 |
13.7% |
|
More than 20 |
41.2% |
|
Discipline |
|
|
Business |
6.8% |
|
Computer and Information Science |
6.2% |
|
Education |
5.4% |
|
Health and related |
7.5% |
|
Liberal Arts and Sciences |
29.0% |
|
Natural Sciences |
16.2% |
|
Professional |
13.0% |
|
Social Sciences |
15.8% |